Pope Francis reflected on the season of Christmas, explaining that it is a time to encounter the Lord in faith, and allow him to renew our lives. The Pope said, Christmas, “isn’t just a temporal celebration or the memory of a beautiful (event); Christmas is more…Christmas is an encounter!” As we progress through the season of Advent, “we go by this road to meet the Lord,” the Pope stated, “we walk to meet him,” to “encounter him with the heart, with life; encounter him alive, as He is; encounter him with faith.” Turning to the day's Gospel reading in which the centurion comes to Jesus asking him to heal his servant only by “saying the word,” Pope Francis noted that “it is not easy to live with faith,” emphasizing how in the Gospel the Lord “marveled at this centurion: he marveled at the faith that he had. He had walked to meet the Lord, but he did so with faith. For this reason he not only encountered the Lord, but he felt the joy of being met by the Lord. And this,” the pontiff pointed out, “is precisely the encounter that we want: the encounter of faith.” When it is only us who seek an encounter with Christ, continued the Pope, “we are – in quotation marks, let's say – the masters of this meeting,” but on the contrary, when we allow him to encounter us “and it is he himself who enters us…it is he that re-makes us all over again.” This renewal is the fruit of letting Christ encounter us, the Pope explained, “because this is the coming, this is what it means when Christ comes: to make everything new.” Jesus, he said, re-makes “the heart, the soul, life, hope,” and “our path,” adding that “We are on a journey of faith, with the faith of that centurion, to meet the Lord and mainly to let him encounter us!” The pontiff then stressed the importance of having an open heart in order for this encounter to take place, explaining that it is also crucial to be open to what the Lord wants to tell us, noting that “what he wants to tell me,” is often not “what I want him to tell me!” However, the Pope observed, “He is the Lord,” and what he tells us is meant for each of us personally, because “the Lord does not look at everyone together, like a mass. No, no! He looks everyone in the face, in the eyes, because love is not abstract: love is concrete!” Concluding his reflections, Pope Francis emphasized that this love is “from person to person: the Lord, a person, looks at me, a person. Letting ourselves be encountered by God means just this,” he stated, “to let ourselves be loved by the Lord!”
Finding St Anthony Among the Lost Items
Saint Anthony of Padua, though often associated with finding lost articles, was primarily known in his lifetime as a powerful and eloquent preacher. Originally a Canon Regular of St. Augustine, he was inspired to join the newly formed Franciscan order after witnessing the martyrdom of the first Franciscan missionaries in Morocco. His conversion to the mendicant life under St. Francis of Assisi transformed him, deepening his commitment to poverty, humility, and evangelical preaching. Gifted with profound theological knowledge and a captivating speaking style, he traveled across Italy and France, drawing immense crowds with his clear and passionate sermons, converting many and combating heresy with his unwavering faith and intellectual rigor. Beyond his public ministry, St. Anthony was a mystic who enjoyed profound spiritual experiences, most notably a vision of the Infant Jesus. This intimate connection with the Christ Child is a hallmark of his iconography, often depicting him c...
